Fergie's Tech Blog

RSA 2009: Why the Top U.S. Cyber Official is Losing Sleep

Bill Brenner writes on CIO.com:

The United States' top cybersecurity official already knew the world's digital infrastructure needed help before she took on a 60-day cyberspace policy review. With the review now complete, she admits the gravity of the situation seeps into her dreams and disturbs her sleep.

"I worry about [questions surrounding cyber security] every night; they infiltrate my dreams," Melissa Hathaway, acting senior director for cyberspace for the National Security and Homeland Security Councils, said in a keynote speech at the RSA Conference Wednesday. "I often wake up at 2:30 or 4:30 in the morning having worked the problem in my sleep, and sometimes even develop a good idea."

President Obama tapped Hathaway, a Bush administration official who helped develop a multi-billion-dollar classified initiative to better secure federal systems and critical-infrastructure networks against online threats, to lead a 60-day review of the government's cybersecurity efforts in February.

She acknowledged what everyone attending RSA already knew: The nation's digital infrastructure -- the world's, for that matter -- is full of security holes that leave us vulnerable to those who would steal personal data for financial gain or to compromise national security.

posted by Fergie @ 4/22/2009 06:03:00 PM